Healing
by Turning-Point-102
Summary: Post DMC, Pre AWE. Will attempts to clean his wounds while Elizabeth frets over the decision to tell him what actually happened aboard the Pearl. Who better to trust than William Turner? One shot - slight Will/Liz naughtiness.


A/N: I've been re-watching the trilogy and I am always bothered by the end of Dead Man's Chest. If only because of the way Will and Elizabeth are acting towards one another. Throughout the first movie and most of the second they really didn't hesitate too much in saying what they were feeling – despite the awkwardness in the first one, what with all the sexual tension.. So…this is my inserted scene between DMC and AWE. Done my way of course.

This will be some Will/Liz arguing complimented by Will/Liz fluff. Rated for naughtiness. Sorry for my disappearance, I know it's been a while. And yes – I've been trying to finish off A Week in the Life of the Turners. With my notes LONG gone, I'm at a bit of a loss. *shrug* In the mean time...enjoy!

**Healing**

Will Turner stood in the middle of the small, one room cabin. Tia Dalma, as strange and cryptic as she could be, had secured separate cabins, more of a single room with four walls, for the small group to stay in before embarking on their journey to World's End.

The events of the last few days were beginning to weigh on him, and the throbbing of his still injured back was a more painful reminder of his ordeals. Sagging onto the cot his head found its way into his upturned hands as he propped his elbows on his knees. He looked disdainfully over at the items he'd asked Tia Dalma for, the bandages and the mysterious bottle filled with a clear liquid sitting on the stool adjacent to the bed.

"_It be good far yer wounds, William Turner, use it." _

Sighing deeply, and regretting it as sharp pain shot across his shoulders. It was a reminder that the sword fighting with Norrington and Jack had not strained only his muscles. Unbuttoning his tunic and slipping it off, he yanked his shirt over his head. The blood stains were evident, and as he turned his back to the stand-up mirror across the room he grimaced.

Indeed his father may have spared him larger, deeper wounds – but they still were wounds none-the-less. Thankful for all the time spent in the sea, the salt water keeping it mostly free from infection, Will set to cleaning himself up.

Ten minutes later his back was on fire from the unknown contents of the now empty bottle. The liquid drops slid down and soaked into the top of his trousers and tears welled up in his eyes at the sting. Cursing the Jamaican woman through gritted teeth he leaned heavily against the tall stool before him.

This was going to be a long night.

***

Elizabeth paced her quarters, her deck hand attire tossed for a simple white dress. Her hands folded repeatedly as she looked out the window toward Will's own lit cabin.

"This is ridiculous. You're engaged to be married and you can't even look him in the eye."

Leaning her forehead against the cool wood of the door she sighed, her betrayal of Jack running rampant across her memory.

His kiss was nothing like Will's. Yes, though she was curious, her heart was firmly bound to Mr. Turner's and she was bound to keep all bouts of curiosity at a minimum. But there wasn't any other way to keep him aboard the Pearl to allow them all to escape.

Justifiable or not, she'd been dishonest with a dear friend and the result sent her dear friend to the Locker. And though a glimmer of light shone on the horizon with the prospect of journeying to the World's End to bring him back, she'd also betrayed Will in a way that seemed most vile.

_'I have to tell him...I have to at least have one person on my side. Who if not William Turner?' _

Making up her mind, she opened the door and strode slowly across the well-worn path. She paused briefly with her hand raised, poised to knock as she heard a soft groan through the door. A frown marred her face as she pressed her ear to the door, hearing a hiss and a curse.

Momentarily thinking she had the wrong cabin, she knocked softly.

"What?" His voice was tense, even she could hear it.

"Will? It's Elizabeth. Are...are you busy?" Cursing herself for sounding like a scared child, she briefly heard another pained grunt before silence was her answer. "I'm coming in..."

The sight that met her eyes was one she wasn't expecting. Clad in only his boots and trousers, those sagging low on his waist as his belt lie discarded on the bed, William Turner stood in the center of the room attempting to clean the lacerations across his upper back and shoulders.

His eyes met hers in the mirror at her gasp, a hand flying up to her mouth. "Oh Will...what did they do to you?"

She longed to ease the pain written in his face as he leaned heavily on the back of the stool, bandages in hand.

"It's nothing, Elizabeth, you should be in bed." He hadn't meant to be gruff with her, after all he did still love her – even if her heart now lie with Sparrow. _'It doesn't hurt nearly as much as a broken heart,' _he mused, standing upright and trying to cut the long strips of fabric into smaller pieces with his father's small knife.

He stopped moving when he felt her gentle hands on his shoulders, her soft lips pressing against an unmarred patch of skin.

"I'm so sorry Will...so sorry. Had I known that Jack would...would have set you up to receive this – punishment, I..." she paused, _'I wouldn't have been feeling as bad about leaving him for the Kraken as I have been,' _she finished in her mind, unable to say the words aloud as she stared intently at the wounds adorning her William's back.

"You would have what, Elizabeth? Not fallen in love with him?"

The words hung in the air like smoke, Will moving away from her before throwing the bandages onto the cot. Turning, he finally met her eyes seeing them shine with sadness, guilt, and regret.

"I saw you with him on the Pearl...I saw you kiss him. What changed from when I left you in Port Royal, Elizabeth? Haven't I proven my love for you time and time again? I've been beaten, whipped, nearly drowned for you and yet I can't get you to look me in the eye."

Will was unable to keep the words from leaving his mouth. He was tired – tired of sitting and having others tell him what to do, who he should be, how he should act. Though Elizabeth had never expected such things from _him_, his frustration over the last few days needed an outlet and right now she was the only one before him.

"It's not...not what you think. I was never in love with Jack, I swear. I-"

Interrupting her with a deft shake of his head his action louder than his voice, "I know what I saw."

"You did see me with - with Jack. But...I had to, Will. The Kraken wasn't after us it was after him! I-I did what I thought I had to do to help us escape. I sacrificed Jack to the Kraken and I'm wracked with guilt, Will. I didn't know any other way to keep him on that ship other than to deceive him."

Tears fell from her overflowing eyes as she wrung her hands. "Please believe me Will...I don't want Jack, I want you." She paused briefly to angrily wipe at the tears on her cheeks before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in a failing attempt to calm her emotional maelstrom. "I...I need _you_," she whispered before she broke, a hand trying to cover the sobs as they escaped from her quivering lips.

"Oh, Elizabeth." Her tears broke his heart and in two steps she was in his arms.

Wrapping her arms around his neck she buried her face in his throat and cried. Not many saw her in tears as she tried to be strong at all times, but even the strong needed someone to lean on from time to time.

Will held her without speaking, his own bubble of guilt rising in his chest. It took a few minutes for her tears to subside and until she stilled his slight rocking movement and his strong hands massaging her back remained constant.

"I'm sorry you had to carry this burden on your own." He leaned back and cupped her cheeks, his thumbs brushing away her tears. "You never have to be alone, 'Lizabeth, I'll always be here _with_ you..._for_ you." His lips descended over hers as she sighed, one hand moving up to tangle in his russet locks as the other pulled his body closer to her own.

Will's hands left her face, trailing down her sides to grip her waist. The kiss deepened as his tongue swept across her own, a soft sigh escaping her as he fully wrapped his arms around her, their bodies coming into full contact. He could taste her tears and feel her willow-thin form tremble against him, his reaction to pull her closer and wrap his arms fully around her.

Their cocoon was broken when her hand came into contact with his wounds, their mouths breaking apart as he arched away from her touch with a groan.

"I'm sorry – I," she panted, her hands pulling back as he clung to her, catching his balance before moving a few feet away from the temptation before him. They both stood breathless and regarding the other without guilt or trepidation for the first time in days.

"I welcome the distraction as I'm not entirely sure that I would be able to stop," his lopsided grin gave her one as well, a blush rising on her cheeks as she walked toward the bed and grabbed the bandages.

"Come, sit and let me bandage you up. You'd never accomplish this on your own."

Obeying he turned to face the stool, throwing his legs around it and sitting with his back toward his fiancée, the makeshift nurse for the evening.

"You should have said something earlier." She moved the bowl of water from across the room to the small bedside table that she then dragged to the left of the chair.

The young man merely closed his eyes and smiled, his heart and mind settling in her presence for the first time in hours. Her hands were as gentle as they could be yet they still elicited hissing and grunts from the man below her. Each time a noise filled the room she would utter a soft "I'm sorry,", Will reassuring gently at each utterance.

"I believe that phrase has been spoken far too much in this room tonight."

Elizabeth laughed as she finished bandaging his back, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder before letting him stand.

"I...I should go. You not doubt are in need of a full nights sleep." She moved toward the door, his hand grasping her thin wrist as he stopped her, pulling her willing body back into his arms.

"Stay here tonight – with me. I promise I'll behave myself, I'll sleep in the chair if I must, just please don't let me alone this night – please, Elizabeth," Will begged into her hair, the image of her with Captain Jack and the heartache, though beginning to fade, were still present.

"Will...it isn't only _you_ that I'd be worried about," she blushed, trying, though not actively, to resist the circle of his arms.

A smile graced his lips as he looked down at his beautiful woman with half-lidded eyes. Cupping her cheek he gently traced the line of her jaw before leaning in to softly capture her lips. Elizabeth nearly needed to open her eyes to confirm that he was indeed kissing her, but she didn't want to risk breaking the moment.

He held her firmly in place with one hand gently sweeping across her cheek to the nape of her neck, his fingers delving into her soft hair as the other wrapped around her waist.

Will stopped for a moment, his forehead resting against hers as he took a deep breath. The expression on his face was that of conflict, as if he was trying to decide what he should do and what he should not. With a sigh he decided, "I've missed you, Elizabeth."

With this utterance his gentleness took a backseat as his mouth hungrily possessed hers. Clinging tight to his arms she was enveloped in a whirlwind of sensations. They'd kissed before - many times. Sneaking them here and there when the chaperon wasn't watching or when her father left the room during one of their luncheons. But never before had he kissed her like _this_. Alone in the middle of a swamp with no prying eyes, no society breathing down their necks – it was just Will and Elizabeth, and his kiss mirrored that revelation.

His mouth and tongue were soft yet commanding, and she responded with fervor at the fire newly lit in her belly. Elizabeth felt as though her stomach was filled with butterflies and they were threatening to escape between her busy lips. Her tongue met his and she dimly recalled hearing him groan before breaking apart from her and pulling her up into his arms. Barely noticing her sudden change of position she felt the cool softness of blankets against her back as he commandeered her mouth once more.

Will kept himself perched above her, the only contact being their tangled legs and lips. She was quick to remedy this as her hands grasped his waist and pulled him over her completely. He pulled his mouth away with a sigh and redirected to the column of her throat.

"We should stop," he mumbled against her skin before nipping at her earlobe. Sliding one hand down her neck to her upper arm, pausing for a moment to slide the soft fabric farther down her shoulder and place a smoldering kiss to the newly exposed flesh, his lips moved lower to the dimple formed by the intersection of her throat and collar bones.

"We probably should," she replied, her hands moving from his waist to dive in his hair, holding his head against her sensitive neck.

Moving lower still his mouth sucked at the swell of her breast, his tongue scraping against the fabric concealing the rest of the mound from his attention.

"God Will..." she gasped, her eyes closing as she lifted her leg and wrapped it around his backside. "If we're going to stop, we need to do it now."

Nodding against her he lifted his head back up and took her mouth once more, their tongues dueling as one strong hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her body flush against his own. Untangling his free hand from her hair he dragged it down her side to her leg, the thin fabric of the dress bunching up against her hips, reaching her thigh he squeezed. A moan erupted from her lips as she unwittingly lifted her hips, her taut lower stomach coming into contact with the straining bulge in his trousers.

Their mouths broke apart with a smack as his own pleasured groan filled her ear, his forehead dropping to her shoulder. Hot breath fanned her overheated skin as he loosened his hold on her thigh, moving his hand away from her white flesh and back up to her cloth-covered waist.

"Oh if you were my wife, Elizabeth." Will's voice was low and gravelly, his accent more cockney as he tried desperately to quell his raging passion for the woman below him.

Elizabeth's mind was reeling as new sensations assaulted her from each place Will's hands and lips had traveled. "N-no one would know...no one but us, Will." Finally opening her eyes she pressed her fingers into the taut muscles at the base of his neck and gently massaged.

Pulling his head up he looking down at her. The deeper shade of brown and a hint of purple in her eyes, the swollen lips, the flushed cheeks, all obvious signs of her desire for how their evening could progress. Still, he frowned though a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"I would know. I can't claim you yet, darling, I'm sorry." Her hold on him wouldn't allow his body to move, though, as it were, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.

Elizabeth sighed, closing her eyes and darting her tongue out to wet her lips. "Even in the middle of a swamp you remain proper. Damn you and your notion of being a gentleman." The growl wasn't angry, almost humorous – a hint of a laugh in her throat as she smiled up at him. "Are you absolutely sure? I'm more than willing to be ravished wholly and completely by you right now. I'm close enough to being your wife in my eyes, love."

Will groaned, her proposition and admission of her feelings almost swaying him into taking her then and there. Reluctantly he pulled away, moving to sit at the end of the bed as she propped herself up on both elbows. This motion pushed the strap farther off her shoulder and exposed more flesh of her breasts to his hungry gaze.

"As beautiful and tempting as you are, Elizabeth Swann, and though the desire as I have for you right now is overwhelming, we can't." _'Though if you were to ask me why, I don't believe I could give you an adequate reason,' _he finished in thought.

"You're a good man, William Turner." Conceding, she sat up beside him, her hand finding his and entwining their fingers. Leaning forward she rested her head on his shoulder with a contented exhale, Will nuzzling his nose against her cheek with a smile.

"Will you still stay here with me tonight?" His voice was soft and her nod was his answer. Toeing his boots off as she kicked off her light shoes, he made his way up on the bed and placed his body beside hers, Elizabeth instantly rolling to cuddle into his chest. The soreness of his shoulders was long forgotten as he realized that any pain he went through for the woman beside him was worth it.

"I wish I _was_ your wife, Will. With all my heart, I _wish_ I was your wife." Her admission echoed in the circle of his arms as they tightened around her back and cradled her to his chest.

"You will be, Elizabeth. You'll have to be, for next time I doubt I'll be able to stop."

Laughing, she pressed a kiss to his throat before settling in, sleep quickly overtaking them both.

***

Well – I got WAY naughtier than I was planning. Once again, sorry for my disappearance. Got a full time job, got a full-time relationship (going strong over these last 4 years), and got slightly out of the Pirates universe when I watched the ending of AWE. I was a bit at a loss of what to write after that, to be honest. But now I just ignore the ending of the third movie and blissfully pretend it didn't end the way it actually did, and I'm happier about the whole thing.

Let me know what you think!

-Liz


End file.
